Managing the properties in your rental portfolio can be an enjoyable, hassle free experience, if done proficiently. Staying on top of repairs and keeping properties occupied with good tenants who pay their rent on time, is the basis on which real estate wealth is built.

For the inexperienced investor, who is challenged with keeping their properties occupied and controlling running costs, managing their assets can be a difficult and testing experience. But this need not be the norm.

Eliminate the following six costly property management mistakes when managing your properties and make administrating them, a hassle free experience.

1. Buying “bargain homes” with big problems
That great bargain bought at auction appeared to look like a bargain because of the hidden problems you were probably not aware of; leaky roof, structural damage, poorly decorated and a host of other issues you could well do without, if you want to do nothing else than simply collect the monthly rent cheque.

2. Accepting less rent and damage deposit
It’s best to enter into the rental agreement on binding terms, where you as the owner set and agree terms and conditions of the tenancy. Accepting less rent that does not cover your mortgage payment and settling for a lower damage deposit puts your tenant in control of the lease. Definite problems ahead!

3. Financing negative cash flow.
Depending on the location and condition of your property, the market rate you’re able to demand for rent maybe lower than your mortgage payment.
In cases like these, it would be better not to add these properties to your real estate holdings. Having to subsidize a property that’s in negative cash flow in the hope rents will recover to meet targets will have an impact on the overall profitability of your business.

4. Tenants in control of rental terms
Just as you as an investor always look to add quality assets to your real estate holdings through favourable negotiations, tenants will also look to negotiate favorable rental agreements which put them in control.
As the owner of a valuable asset, you must also be in control of all rental terms.

5. Renting to tenants with no credit history.
Every potential tenant should be thoroughly vetted, regardless of how strong their application looks on first inspection.
And, any applicant who does not have an established credit history is most probably not worth the effort of managing if the lease goes badly once they enter into the tenancy.

6. Exchanging rent for services
With a downturn in the economy, trying to keep a cap on maintenance costs and having all your rentals occupied, an exchange of rent for services may at first appear to be an ideal arrangement.
A tenant who maybe out of work and is quite capable at maintaining the repairs on your properties could be advantageous in keeping maintenance costs down.

But, as a lasting property management way of operating, it may prove to be not a sensible approach to hassle free property management.

For the new and even the experienced property investor, these costly property management mistakes must be avoided to limit any negative impact on your real estate holdings. Get the full list of costly property management mistakes from the rental experts at Riches with Rentals

One of the many niche in real estate is investing in foreclosed properties. The many advatages of acquiring foreclosed properties has attracted several real estate investors into venturing into this niche. In this article, I’ll show you the many ways you can make money from foreclosed properties as well as additional guidelines and questions to ask before acquiring that property.

Rental Income

The most common and obvious way to make money from foreclosed properties is through rental income. The best part about it is these foreclosed properties normally sell below current market values. Therefore, you can usually get better returns from this than from acquiring brand new or non-foreclosed properties.

Buy-and-Hold

Some investors who don’t have the time to consistently monitor rental properties choose the buy-and-hold strategy. This involves keeping the foreclosed property and waiting for the price to appreciate substantially before selling. Higher returns are realized here, especially when the property is acquired at a much lower value.

Flipping

On the other end of the buy-and-hold spectrum is the flipping strategy. Unlike the buy-and-hold where owners are willing to wait, in flipping, time is the key factor and selling as quickly as possible is the key to making lots of money. Flippers quickly realize profit through the price gap between the acquisition and current market price.

Commissions

Sometimes, banks give out commissions to people who successfully refer buyers that eventually purchase foreclosed properties from the bank. Depending on the bank, it can sometimes range between 2-5% of acquisition price.

Investing in foreclosed properties can really be a rewarding endeavor, but make sure to ask these essential questions first before acquiring the property:

What would be the payment terms? First and foremost, you must ask the agent or the bank what payment options they can offer and how flexible they can get. Ask for the minimum downpayment, interest rates, minimum and maximum payment period, and the monthly amortization.

Are there people currently residing in the property? If there are, have they signed an agreement to leave the property once acquired by a new owner already? This is a potential red flag for the property, especially if the people currently occupying are stubborn and persistent.

Can I have a copy of the title? You can ask to view the true copy of the title or have a photocopy for future reference. This is very important as it is through here that you can verify if the property indeed has a clean title without any annotated mortgages, encumbrances, and claims. The least that you want is having to battle the ownership of the property with someone else.

What are the taxes and fees involved in buying the property? In buying properties, you must not think of only the selling price but also the taxes and fees involved in transferring the title from its previous owner to you. This sometimes involve a significant amount of cash outlay so be prepared and incorporate it in your budget.

What other info about the property that I haven’t asked yet can you give? Maybe there are other pertinent details and factors that you might have forgotten to ask. Be sure to ask everything, after all the information you get is free.

There you have it. I hope this can help you in scoring out a good deal out of all the foreclosed properties you are eyeing.

For more tips and information on real estate investing, visithttp://smartrealestateinvesting.wordpress.com/

Most people, when asked about real estate investments, would almost always mention their own homes as their only real estate investment. After all, their homes are most likely the single largest investment they will ever make in their entire life. But what they don’t realize is that there are numerous ways of investing into real estate. Here, we discuss a few of them.

Income-producing properties

Multi-door apartments, duplex, condominium units for rent – these are just some examples of properties that people buy or build to augment their incomes. The ever-increasing population and influx of people to highly urbanized areas has established a strong demand and high occupancy rate for these types of properties. In addition, this can provide owners a continuous flow of passive income with minimal effort needed for periodic repairs and maintenance.

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a security that is traded on major exchanges much like any other exchange-traded funds but primarily focuses on property stocks. Think of it as pooled funds coming from various investors, individual or institution, invested in a basket of property companies, e.g. Property1, Property2, Property3, that are publicly traded during market hours. Another feature of REITs is profit distribution through regular dividends.

Purchase of publicly-traded property stocks

Another option is to invest directly in individual property stocks by buying publicly-traded shares. This is highly recommendable to people who have the knowledge and time to carefully analyze stocks and can be more rewarding than REITs if one is able to perfectly catch good buying opportunities. These individual property stocks may also give out dividends from time to time, depending on company performance.

Given the options above, there are now many ways you can call yourself a real estate investor. But why do some people prefer having properties as their investment instead of paper assets such as mutual funds and stocks? Aside from the fact that properties are tangible investments, two of the most important reasons are leverage and capital gains.

Leverage

The use of what Robert Kiyosaki calls “other people’s money” or OPM. With leverage, you can acquire and control properties even if you don’t have enough cash to buy them in full. This is possible through several financing options that are available. There are some property owners who rent out their properties and use the monthly rent to pay off their monthly mortgages – it’s like having someone else pay for the property you acquired!

Capital Gains

People invest in real estate with the hopes that the prices of the properties they acquire will eventually go up. This difference between purchase price and the property’s current market value is called capital gains. Of course this doesn’t happen all the time. Take for example the recent housing bubble that triggered a global recession during the late 2000. Therefore, the best strategy here is to hold on to your asset as generally, real estate prices do climb over time.

But of course, just as in buying your own home, due diligence must be done in choosing which among the many properties in the market are truly good deals.

I live in Stuart, Florida, which is part of Martin County. As in most of the United States, our economy is in the doldrums. South Florida’s economy is probably in tougher shape because of our heavy dependence on real estate development and construction. There is no facet in our lives where that real property does not play a role. It is vital to the economy of the nation. While real estate is one of the important legs on which our economy stands, the dependence on the one facet of land development from farmland to city is what has put the economy of Florida into such free fall. The local economy will not get better until we stop resorting to the same real estate development of the past.

For over a hundred years, Florida has been legendary for its boom and bust cycles. Our land booms are spectacular and our busts just as renowned. On the heavily populated east coast, Florida’s development occurred late in relation to the other east coast states. Climate, topography and geography isolated the state until the 20th century. While today Florida has 19 million people and is the fourth most populous state, in 1900 our population of 528,500 people was just above New Hampshire and Vermont on the eastern seaboard.

In what section of the state people lived has dramatically changed over the same period. In 1900, 70% of the population lived in the northern third of the state while only 8% lived in South Florida. While the United States was settled and explored from east to west, Florida was settled from north to south with much of that area under populated. In the 1930 census (the first census after formation of the Martin County), Martin had a population of 5111. It wasn’t until 1990 that we had over 100,000 people.

So why is it that Florida’s economy has more severe boom and bust cycles than most of the rest of the nation? Our main industries today are agriculture, tourism, trade with Central and South America and land development. Our exponential population growth is due to people wanting the “Florida lifestyle.” As the population increased, farmers decided it was more advantageous to develop their property for subdivisions than to continue producing crops and livestock. For the past seventy years, our state and local governments decided it was easier to allow the building of hundreds of thousands of new homes and shopping centers than to encourage a more diverse business development.

I have been a licensed real estate broker for over 40 years. I have bought, sold, owned, leased and managed residential and commercial real estate during that period. I am licensed in several states including Florida. I am both a CPM and CCIM and have taught different real estate at several schools in my career. If there is one thing I understand, it is the business of real estate. I know how vital the real estate industry is to a community. But government has only concentrated on one facet of that industry to the detriment of creating an integrated real estate and business economy.

To the south and north of Martin County land development has gone awry. Whether through greed, arrogance or stupidity, our politicians have allowed the sensitive environmental eco-system of Florida to be paved over. While construction added many jobs to the economy, those jobs are short term. Once the structure is built, those workers are out of jobs. There has been no economic planning for the future… only the present. Development for the sake of development is idiotic. Economic benefits go to the few and the tax payer is left with the bill of unchecked real estate expansion. If there are too many homes and commercial properties being built, then the value of all those properties will continue to fall. It is the simple law of supply and demand.

What has saved Martin County from having a similar fate as our neighbors is our Comprehensive Plan. Development for the foreseeable future should be confined within the Urban Services District. As I drive down Federal Highway (US Route 1), I see so much vacant and underutilized property for development and re-development. It is foolish not to take advantage of the infrastructure already in place.

We, as the residents, do not need our elected officials to be lobbyists for the development interests. We do not need them to stretch and change the rules to accommodate land speculators. It is preposterous to think that certain people and industries need “fast tracking”, tax subsidies and reducing or waiving of fees. Wouldn’t a smarter plan be to have a level playing field for all business? Why should I as a tax payer and small business person subsidize someone else’s business? Aren’t all businesses in the county entitled to the same level of services and to pay the same amount in impact fees and taxes?

Instead of the make-believe world that a majority of our current elected officials live in, we need to have our county and city commissions look to develop the plentiful resources within the Urban Service District. Instead of a “tool kit” to bribe a few cronies, we need “a large inclusive box” that treats all business people equally. In a community such as ours it is far better to have a hundred employers of 10 employees than one super employer with a thousand employees. In a downturn more people will keep their jobs.

Employment, especially high tech employment, is undergoing tremendous change. Frequently, people are being engaged not as fulltime employees but rather on a project by project basis. A Company based in Seattle will hire experts siting and working in London, Shanghai, Kolkata and Stuart for an individual project. We can’t build buildings for purposes that won’t exist in five years. The promises made for the future will turn out to be broken.

The continued economy of Florida and Martin County must not look to out dated and old ways of doing business. The building of vast tracts of homes and office complexes is not the key to economic development. It will only lead to further sprawl and decay. New businesses will develop organically within the Urban Service District if the taxpayers and their elected representatives provide the right atmosphere for them. We shouldn’t squander the resources and infrastructure we already possess within the county. Let’s spend our tax dollars on bringing that infrastructure into the 21st century. The buildings, roads, houses and utilities already exist. We just need to use them correctly.

With the demand for rental properties increasing and house prices frozen at a reasonably low rate, buying a property with a view to renting it out has become increasingly popular, both with seasoned property developers and first-time landlords who’ve left their jobs in order to make their living from property.

With so many new landlords emerging, it’s inevitable that mistakes will be made and issues will arise – this is natural in any new process and can’t be avoided. However, there are a few mistakes new landlords commonly make that are easily avoidable but can have devastating consequences should they be made.

When entering the buy-to-let market for the first time, it’s tempting to look for the cheapest property possible and then charge the highest rent possible in order to improve your profit margins. However, many landlords make the mistake of buying a cheap property and not questioning why it costs so little; the reasons for this can be anything from being in an undesirable neighbourhood to being in particularly bad repair. The implications of making this kind of mistake is having no prospective tenants or having to spend a significant chunk of your budget on improving the house, both of which will harm your profit margin.

It’s also easy as a new landlord to focus solely on figures and, as such, let any old people willing to pay the rent move into your property. It’s vital to properly vet any prospective tenants and get the full low-down on them, both financially and on a personal level. You want to ensure, as far as possible, that they won’t be late on rent payments and won’t trash your property.

Obviously, some reasons for tenants missing rent payments can’t be detected right away and may occur during the course of their tenancy – job losses or unforeseen expenses for example. But on the whole, thoroughly checking prospective tenants’ background before accepting them will offer you a decent level of protection. If you aren’t sure how best to go about performing background checks, good letting agents can offer a comprehensive service for a fee.

Unforeseen costs also present something of an issue for new landlords, with many basing their budget around putting down a deposit and making mortgage repayments, while offsetting these costs and hopefully turning a profit on rent payments.

Unfortunately, there can be a lot of unforeseen costs involved with renting out a property, ranging from minor maintenance to full-on renovations to keep the property up-to-date and attractive to prospective tenants. There’s also the issue of empty properties – it’s estimated the average rental property is empty for two months a year. Always make sure to factor these considerations into your budget, and adjust buying plans accordingly.

It’s tempting when starting out as a landlord to go it alone; after all, you will be able to keep all the profit you make. However, the world of buy-to-let can be daunting and for a first-time landlord not fully understanding the laws and obligations you have to fulfill can have some pretty dire consequences.

The best option for a first-time landlord is to sign up with a letting agent; while the fees will take a chunk out of your profits, the advice a letting agent can give you is invaluable, from drafting up tenancy agreements to advising you on insurance policies. They will also help market your property and even manage it if you live far away. Going through the buy-to-let process with an expert is a valuable experience, and in the long term can give you the confidence to go it alone on later ventures!

When it comes to moving house it can often take a long time especially if you end up in a chain where you are relying on someone else before your move can go forward. If it’s your home causing the problem because you haven’t found a buyer then that can be easily remedied by selling your own house through a fast house sale company so you can get the cash you need to move your sale along.

Many people continue to use an estate agent to sell their home because it’s what they are used to, they know exactly how it works and it also gives them the time to find their own new property. The only time a problem may arise is if you’ve found the home you want to purchase but you aren’t in a position to purchase because your house doesn’t have any offers. When this happens you may be able to ask if it is possible that they can hold back on the selling of their home until your house is sold so that you are in a position to purchase their house. If this is not possible and you want to put an offer in then you need to sell your home quickly otherwise you will miss out.

You don’t want to miss out on your dream home and by selling your house with a fast house sale company you won’t need too. Selling your house is as easy as A, B, C and you’ll soon find yourself with the cash you need to be able to put an offer in on the house you’ve seen. A fast house sale company can purchase your home form you within a week and this means that you’ll be in the position you need to be.

When you sell your home with a fast house sale company you can save yourself a large amount of money as there are no estate agents fees to pay and the company will cover legal fees and survey fees, there aren’t any hidden costs so if you’re not told you need to pay for it before hand then you won’t be paying for it. The sale can be carried out so quickly due to the companies having their own in-house solicitors who will work for both parties and so there is no delay on contact between solicitors. You will be quoted a price for your home when you first contact a fast house sale company and this will be based on the details that you have given them and the prices that similar houses in your area are going for. Once you have accepted the offer you will receive the full amount they have quoted you, you will have your cash within a week from the date you agree to their offer and set the ball in motion.

You’ll soon find yourself in a position where you can purchase your dream home without needing to worry about being in a chain where you are waiting on the sale of your home. It won’t be long before you are in your new home and ready to add your own personal touches.

A quick house sale is a very safe route to take when selling your home, however it is always very beneficial to find a company which other people recommend especially if it is someone that has used the company or knows someone who has that way you can be sure to use a company that you truly can trust as there will always be untrustworthy companies but as long as you choose the right company a fast house sale is very safe.

Fast House Sale Buyer is a well established company who specialise in fast house sale helping people to sell their homes so that they don’t miss out on their dream home.

All you need to have is the motivation, drive and a few simple tips and you can already have a lucrative real estate investment venture. Here are some tips for effective real estate investing.

It is all about the location – effective real estate investments is all about scouting for the right locations. The best properties to buy are the ones that are located in underdeveloped locations that are about to see some development in terms of better roads, public transportation routes, utilities and other huge real estate developments that can impact the property values of the surrounding locations. If you are able to buy when the property values are low, you can generate huge returns on your investment when the property significantly increases in value due to the developments in its surroundings. Even the simplest developments can greatly increase the property values.

Buy only properties that are free of red flags – do not buy properties that have a lot of negative improvements or encumbrances. Negative improvements are improvements made to the property that negatively affect the value of the property. This can range from poorly designed buildings, ugly landscaping, as well as other negative improvements.

Encumbrances range from legal disputes regarding the property, irresponsible present property owners, squatters, difficult tenants as well other parties that are interested in the property. Only buy properties that are free of these red flags as it will ensure that you have peace of mind. Red flags will not only stress you, it will also negatively affect your finances.

Improve the property – if you want to generate excellent returns to your property, here you really should improve it. Even the simplest of improvements can significantly increase the value of the property. Improvements range from landscaping to actually constructing a building on the property.

Other improvements include placing concrete footpaths, sheds and other useful improvements on the property. Investing more resources n the development and improvement in your property is vital if you want to make sure that the market value of the property is going to improve. The investments you made on improvements can be offset by the amount of money that you can make when you eventually sell the property at a good market price.

Sell only when you have to – one of the most important tips for effective real estate investing to make sure that you should only sell the property when you really have to. This will guarantee that you will be able to sell the property at the best price. Do not sell at the first instance that the property values increased.

With the tough economic times nowadays, you might not be able to pay all your dues in time.

Sometimes, you might not even have enough to pay your mortgage. And once the banks have threatened to repossess your home, it could be really hard for you to take. If you don’t want lose your home, you should try to find out the ways on how to stop house repossession. This way, you could still maintain the roof over your head and keep your family safe.

One of the things that you should find out when your house is under the threat of repossession is its worth. How do I know how much is my house worth? Well, there are many methods that you could use, but probably the most reliable one is by checking the real estate agencies. Most of these agencies will have the means of finding out the value for your home, which is really great especially if you are planning on selling it.

One way of how to stop house repossession without resorting to selling it is to request for a longer bond term. Many homeowners will usually have a 20 year bond period for their home. However, most people aren’t aware that they could have this term extended to 30 years. People who avail of the period extension will have a slightly lower monthly bond payment, but they do still have to pay in a higher interest rate. However, if you are having problems with your finances each month, giving it some slack by reducing your mortgage payments can help you pay them all off. If you can afford it already, you could even revert the loan term back to 20 years, which will allow you to pay off your home more quickly.

Another way that you could stop house repossession is to find a property investor that can help you in selling your home. Selling your home can allow you to actually prevent the banks from repossessing your home. Some of the property investors even allow the homeowners to stay in their home for a period after they have sold it. This way, they will have ample time in order to find a new place to live.

Contrary to popular belief, there are many cash buyers for houses, as long as it is sold for the right price. If you want to avoid repossession, then this is the best way to do it.

Having your house repossessed can be a very bad experience, but you can still prevent it from happening to you. All you would have to do is to find out the ways on how to stop house repossession, and you could continue living your life in a secure home.

Our goal is to help real estate investors create the freedom to determine their own future. We have a passion to see people take control and make their own lifestyle choices. We strive to help you set up and grow your real estate investing business, your lead base, and your revenue by sharing what has (and has not!) worked for us, and what we believe to be the best practices.